Two women robbed by gunman on bike

EAST COUNTY  Two people were robbed at gunpoint in Santee and El Cajon Monday night by a man riding a bicycle.

The first theft was reported just after 9:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Walmart on Town Center Parkway near Mission Gorge Road in Santee, sheriff’s Lt. Roy Frank said.

The robber approached a woman and took some of her belongings and then rode off on a bike. The man was described as possibly white, 5 feet 8 inches tall, about 150 pounds and slender. He was wearing dark clothing and a hat with something covering his face, Frank said.

The second robbery involved another woman who was outside the Vons Market on Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon.

The thief rode up to the victim on a bike about 11:30 p.m., showed her a handgun and demanded the woman’s purse, El Cajon police said.

That man was white or Latino and was wearing a dark shirt and dark pants, police said.

About 20 minutes later, in La Mesa, police were called to an Albertsons market on Fletcher Parkway after a possible sighting of the suspect. Officers searched the area and a nearby transient camp but did not locate the person, La Mesa police Lt. Matt Nicholass said.